Electric-cord retriever.



W. (LBBW.

ELECTRIC CORD RETRIEVER.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 17, 190s.

Patented Feb. 23, 1909.

e il@ m. a. .w 4 m .u Si @@N @New M. 1 l mw I l N VEN TOI? ZZz'cz/ra 0650102.19620 W/TNESSES f7/LW@ AnaB/Veys- UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE.

WILLIAM OSBORN REWr-OF EUREKA, CALIFORNIA.

ELECTRIC-CORD RETRIEVER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led March 17, 1908. Serial No. 421,665.

Patented Feb. 2s, 1909..

trievers and adjusters, such as used for hold` ing electric light cords and adjusting the length thereof when desired.

The construction comprises a reel or spool upon which the cord is wound, and the invention resides especially in the construction of the reel, which facilitates the attachment of the electric wires and the arran ement for conducting the current to them t rough the device. n

The invention resides also in the mechanism for controlling the rotation of the reel and locking the same so as to adjust the length of the pendent cord.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts to be more fully described hereinafter and particularly set' forth in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanyingvdrawings i'ormin` a part of this specilication, in which simi ar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures'.

Figure l is a vertical section through the device taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2; Fig. 2-is a Vertical section taken throuvh the device on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a sleeve which constitutes apart of the body or hub of the spool or reel.

Referring more particularly to the parts, 1 represents a base plate or block upon which the metal parts of the device are attached. At opposite points on the block I provide hangers 2 and 3, which are provided with feet as indicated, which are fastened to the base as shown. The hanger 2 is formed below into aboX or bearing 4; the hanger 3 is sim-ilarly formed below into a box or bearing 5,

and these bearings are provid-ed respectively with bushings 6 and 7, of liber or similar non-conducting material. In the bushings 6 and 7 gudgeons 8 and 9 are driven tight, and these gudgeons are formed of nietal. In the outer ends of these gudgeons binding posts 10 and 11 are rovided, to which the electric wires 12 an 13 are attached. As

' downwardly as shown.

indicated most clearly in Fig. 1, the bushings 6 and 7 are held in place by removable set screws or bolts 14 which screw into the lower side of the boxes but do not extend inwardly sufliciently to touch the gudgeons 8 and 9. In this way the gudgeons are efectively insulated from the hangers. .gudgeons proje/ct inwardly toward each ^other in axial alinement, and support be- TheA A tween them a spool or reel 14a. 'The hub of this reel is formed of a sleeve 15 of insulating material, which sleeve is attached between disks 16 and 17, the said disks having bosses 18 or naves of the same diameter as the` sleeve 15, the parts being attached so that the bosses seat against the ends of` the sleeve as indicated. These parts are held t0- gether by a tubular fastening 19 which eX- i tends lon 'tudinally through them, the ends of the tu e being provided with machine screws 20 which are countersunk into the disks from the outer side, and. which screw into the ends of the tubular member 19 as shown. The sleeve 15 is shown in detail in Fig. 3. At its ends it is `provided with recesses 2l and 22 which consist simply of sor notches disposed 'In longitudinal alinement v with each other. .f The reel is formed with a central bore 23 which extends continuously and of the same ldiameter through the disks 16 and 17 and the sleeve 15. In the ends of this bore I provide metal thimbles 24 and 25 respectively. The thimble 24 is provided with a tubular laterally projecting nipple 26 which is adapted to fit into the notch 21, as indicated `1n Fig. 1. This nipplel is provided with a binding post 27 at which one of the electric wires 28 from the electric cord 29, is attached. The thim-ble 25 is similarly provided wigth a tubular nipple 30, which is received in the notch 22, and this nipple is likewise provided with a binding post 31 to which the other electric Wire 32 is attached. The reeland the hangers are completely inclosed in a case 33, which has a reduced lower portion 34 and an opening 35 below, through which the electric cord 29` passes I provide a spring 36 which tends to rotate the reel in a direction to wind the cord 29 thereupon, as will be readily understood. In order to mount this spring, the disk 17 is provided on its outerv side with a square hub 37 as indicated in Fig. 2, and to the side of this liu-b the i-nner end of the spring is attached, the spring beingvof spiral form as shown. The outer end of the spring is rig! idly attached to a circular rim or flange 38 which is formed on the hanger 3. The por- 5 tion of this flange or rim 38 which lies near the disk 17, is smooth so as to present a rubbing face wheny the moving parts exert a braking action upon it, as will be described 15 plurality of pawls 40 are attached by pivot bolts' 41. The bodies of these pawls are curved outwardly, and are adapted to en.

)gage with the teeth 39 as indicated at the upper portion of Fig. 2. Theyare also provldedl with rearwardly rojecting tails 42 of reduced thickness, andp the inner edges of these tails are adapted to come against the rubbing surface of the rim v38, as indicated 'in Fig. 1. `Near theirv outer ends, the pawls yare provided with counterweights 43, which are adapted to y outwardly when the reel rotates rapidly. i

It will be evident from an inspection of Fig. 1, vthat an insulated electric connection -36 is made from the wire 12 through the gudgeon. 8, thimble 24, through the wire 28. A similar insulated electric connection is made from the wire 13 through the gudgeon 9, thimble 25, through the wire 32. It should be understood that 1n practical use, the cord 29 .is coiled about the hub of the reel, and that the spring 36 tends to rotate the reel in the directlon which will coil the cord upon it. The sprino', however, is prevented from 40 completelycoi ing the cord upon it by means of the pawls 40 and the teeth 39.

It w1ll be evident from an inspection of Fig. 2 that vthe teeth 39 present abrupt faces on the right side, which always engage one of the pawls as lndicated, when the reel is not in motion.

When it is desired'to adjust the cord to a different length, the cord is pulled down and suddenly released, whereupon the spring instantly gives the reel a high velocity of rotation. This velocity acting upon the weights 43 throws the forward ends of the pawls outwardly, and maintains them 'out of engagement with the teeth 39. In

'55 this way they offer no resistance to the rotation of the reel untilits motion is checked by ones hand. YAs soon as thisoccurs, that one of the pawls which-is disposed uppermost, will be forced into engagement with the teeth by gravity acting upon its weight,

andthe reel will then be checked agamst further movement.

When the reel is rotating at a high speed,

the outward movement o the weights '43 l brings the tails- 42 of the pawls inwardly, so

the ends thereof, disks havin that they are forced against the rubbing face ofthe rim. 38, and in this way a desirable braking action or frictional resistance is offered to thenrotation of the reel. In' this way the tails not only'operate as stops '70, to limit the outward movement of the pawls, but they prevent the reel from runningL away or racing. A

Having thus described my' invention, I

'claimas new and desire to secure by Letters 75 Patent:

1. A reel for an electric cord comprising, in combination, a pair of disks, a sleeve connectin said disks,.thimbles set in the centers o said disks, and having laterally prof jecting nipples having means for attaching thev electric wires thereto, the body of said reel havingy recesses formed at the point of junction between saidsleeve and said disks through which said nipples pass. t

2. A reel for an electric cord comprising, in-combination, a sleeve, disks having bosses seating against the ends of said sleeve, a fasl tening extending longitudinally through said sleeve and said disks and holding the same together, said reel having recesses formed at the meeting surfaces of said bosses with said sleeve, thimbles mounted axially in said reel and adapted to receive gudgeons, said thimbles having nipples projecting laterally through said recesses and having binding posts to receive the electric wires.

3. A reelforan electric cord comprising, in combination, `a 'sleeve having recesses 1n bosses seating against the ends of sai reel, means for securing said disks to said sleeve, thimbles received in the centers of said disks, said` thimblesv havin `nipples pro'ectng laterally through sai recesses and aving binding posts for attaching the wires thereto.

4. In an electric` cord retriever, in combination, a reel adapted to have the electric cord wrapped thereupon, means tending to rotate said reel in a direction to wind up said cord, a fixed rim having circumferentially disposed teeth on a portion of the peripheryv thereof, pawls pivotally mounted on said reel and adapted to engage said teeth,l said pawls having counterweights whereby they become disengagedy from said teeth when said reel rotates at a high speed.

5. In an electric cord retriever, in combination, a reel mounted rotatably and adapted to have an electric cord wound thereupon, a spring tending to rotate said reel in a direction to wind up said cord, a rim having ratchet teeth on the upper portion thereof, pawls ivotally mounted on said reel and adapted) to engage said teeth, said pawls having tails adapted to engage said rim to o'er a frictional resistance when said reel rotates at a high speed. I

l 6. In an electric cord retriever, in combi-P nation, a reel adapted to have an electric cord Wound thereupon, a spring tendin to rubbing face when said Weights y out# 10 rotate said reel to Wind up the cord, :L Xed wnrdly under the action of centrifugal force. rim having teeth on a portion thereof on In testimony whereof Ihave signed my the upper side and presenting n rubbing nume to this specification in the presence of face beyond said teeth, pziwls pvotally two subscribing Witnesses.

mounted on said reel adapted to engage said VVILLTAM OSBORN REW. teeth, and omnitel-Weights carried by said W'iineeses:V pnwls, said pawls having tails opposite said E. J. ONEILL, J r., counterweights and adapted to engage said NV. vI Sfro1\ni. l 

